Characters belong to Aaron Sorkin, John Wells Productions, Warner Bros., & NBC. The title's from an REM song. Standard disclaimers apply. Please send feedback.
How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us
Violet & Cinnamon
"Margaret!"
"She went to lunch."
"What?"
Donna stuck her head into Leo's office. "She went to lunch."
"Is this a joke?"
"People have to eat, Leo."
Leo shook his head and ruffled through his papers. "Can you get Lemuel Watson on the phone?"
"What am I saying to him?"
"Tell him you're Leo McGarry's secretary, and let him sit on the line for a few minutes before patching him through."
"Okay." Donna stood patiently in the doorway.
It took Leo a moment to notice her again. "Well?"
"I don't have his phone number."
Leo stared at her over the top of his glasses. "It's in Margaret's Rolodex."
"Are you giving me permission to go through her Rolodex?"
"You can go through her medicine cabinet for all I care, just get Watson on the phone sometime before I die."
"Got it." Donna stepped hastily out to the bullpen. She sat down at Margaret's desk, found a business card, and started to dial.
"So you've left me already?"
She looked up and saw Josh shaking his head in mock sadness. "I took you in," he continued. "I raised you from a chick. I go to lunch and you abandon me for Leo. Fickleness, thy name is woman."
"It's actually 'frailty'," Mandy said, as she approached. "And it's actually quite a sexist little Shakespearean moment, don't you think?"
Josh grinned at her. "Donnatella Moss, Madeleine Hampton. Mandy, Donna."
"Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you," Donna replied. Without missing a beat, she spoke into the phone. "Mr. Watson? This is Leo McGarry's secretary. I'm going to put you through to Mr. McGarry in just a moment."
"Look at that," Josh said. "In the space of an hour, she's gotten a promotion and now she's lying to the rich and famous."
"I'm covering for Margaret." Donna rolled her eyes. "I'm still working for you."
"You should sound happy when you say that."
"You should pay me more."
Josh looked at Mandy. "See, we're funny people."
"I can tell."
"But it all comes out of love."
"Have you lost it?" Toby's growl made them turn. "Have you lost whatever tiny amount of knowledge you once possessed?"
"Excuse me?" C.J. snapped, as she pursued him. "I have studied these things, Toby. This is what I do. I'm telling you, we can't talk about affirmative action yet."
"And I'm telling you that you're wrong, and you're repeating yourself, and you're continuing to be wrong!"
"And you're continuing to be a--"
"Girls, girls, you're both pretty!" Josh interrupted. They both glared at him. He shrugged. "I just can't believe you've been having that argument since we were in Illinois."
"She's stubborn," Toby said.
"He's crazy." C.J. leaned against a desk. "What'd you do with Sam?"
"Food poisoning," Josh said soberly. "I told him that tentacle was still moving. No, he's doing his second draft for tonight."
"The first one was crap," Toby told no one in particular. No one paid attention.
C.J. looked at Mandy. "Have we met? You look familiar."
"So do you." She extended a hand. "Mandy Hampton."
"C.J. Cregg." They shook hands. "I do know you. Norton/Bester, right?"
"Yes. And you used to work for Isabel Stolarczyk."
"Right. 'Used to' being the operative phrase."
"It's not for everybody," Mandy said coolly.
"Obviously not." C.J. gestured at Toby. "The sad sack here is Toby Ziegler."
"You're in PR?"
"Yes. It's nice to meet you, too."
"Publicists are liars," he said, looking at Mandy but also addressing C.J. "It's just that some of them are good ones."
Mandy smiled uncertainly at Josh. "It all comes out of love, huh?"
"The hilarity never stops."
"You're especially going to enjoy the punchline when you're out of a job." Leo watched them from his doorway. "Thanks for covering the phone, Donna."
"No problem." She straightened the files on Margaret's desk, stood up, and shot a look at Josh. "I'll be at my desk."
"She means she'll be at my desk, going through my stuff until I get there," Josh explained as Donna walked away.
"At least that means there's someone at your desk," Toby muttered.
Leo heard him. "What about yours? I'm finding it hard to believe that this campaign is leaving all of you with so much free time."
"We were just leaving, weren't we?" C.J. glanced warily at Toby.
"I suppose." He trudged off. She went after him.
Leo noticed the stranger's presence for the first time. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Mandy Hampton."
"Leo McGarry. It's a pleasure."
Josh smiled proudly as they shook hands. "Tell him how much you want to do campaign work."
"I didn't say that. I said I thought it was intriguing."
"She wants to do campaign work," Josh insisted.
Leo cracked a smile. "Why don't you come sit in my office? We'll see if we can talk you out of that."
* * *
Toby was heading for the office space he shared with Sam, when C.J. stepped in front of him. "Come with me for a minute."
"I'm done arguing right now."
"So am I. Come with me for a minute."
Grudgingly, he trailed after her to the parking lot. As soon as they were outside, she whirled around again to face him. "What's wrong with you?"
He took a step back. "I thought you said you were done arguing."
"You're walking around like you have a personal storm system over your head. I'm not enjoying it myself, but when you start sniping at new people--"
"I didn't exactly see you folding Mandy Hampton into your arms."
"Well, I've met her before, and I was polite. You were petulant. You were bitchy. What's the deal?"
"I'm tired of watching this campaign go in circles," Toby said irritably. "This is when we're supposed to be pushing forward."
"We are pushing forward, and that's not why you're acting like this. What's the deal?"
"I have to put up with you, and Sam, and Leo yelling at me, and the Governor--"
"What's the deal?" She gazed at him steadily.
He started to walk away from her, then shook his head and turned back. "Leo's right. We don't have this free time."
"Toby."
He looked past her, to the building and the bright blue sky beyond it. "The divorce papers came in the mail today."
"Oh." She blinked. "Oh. What did you do?"
"I made airplanes. I signed them, C.J., what the hell else was I supposed to do?"
She walked to him, perching lightly against the hood of a parked car. "I'm sorry." He didn't say anything, so she added, "But you wouldn't want to talk about it."
"No. Does Leo let you sit on his car like that?"
C.J. shrugged. "What he doesn't know."
"Yeah." Toby looked at the ground and kicked a small pebble. "So how's Duke?"
"His name's Luke, and I've told you that a hundred times."
"Right. So how's Duke?"
"He's fine. He's -- he's the same." She tilted her head back with a slight frown. "I'm selling my house."
"You have mentioned that."
"It's a big step."
"It's just a thing people do."
"But it's not just the house." She sighed softly. "I won't have anything here."
"You won't be here," Toby reminded her.
"I hope not. It still seems like a long shot, sometimes."
"You won't be here."
She stood up. "Well, I'm going back in. You coming?"
"In a minute."
"You're just going to stand in the parking lot?"
"It's better than listening to Sam talk to himself while he writes."
She had to laugh. "You have to adjust your attitude, Toby. At least restrain yourself where there are people."
He watched her start back toward the door. "No promises."
"Of course not," she called, as she went inside.
* * *
"Hey, Sam. What are you doing?"
Sam looked up from his desk. "At the moment, I'm taking advantage of Toby's absence by singing a little song and writing a poem. Would you like me to read it to you?"
"Not even a little bit." She grabbed a folding chair from the corner and placed it in front of Sam's desk. Taking a seat, she asked, "How have you been today?"
He paused for a moment. "Honestly? I was a little stuffy when I woke up, but I'm feeling much better."
"That's not what I meant." C.J. rested her elbows on her knees and clasped her hands together. "How do you feel about the campaign?"
Sam removed his glasses and looked at her. "What's going on, C.J.?"
She sighed deeply. "Do you ever wonder what you're going to do if we don't make this happen?"
"No."
"Don't you ever get scared?"
"No," Sam said truthfully. "C.J., we're on a winning team. We're going to the White House. We're going to take America by storm. I know this."
She smiled a little. "Who knew you were such an optimist?"
Sam gestured to Toby's desk. "One of us has to think positively. Hey, how well do you know Mandy Hampton?"
C.J. blinked. "I don't know her at all. I know of her, but we'd never been introduced before today. Why?"
"I was just curious."
"I will tell you one thing, though."
Sam's eyes brightened. "What's that?"
"I think Josh dating her is a cry for help. Big ol' cry."
Sam chuckled. "I'll let you in on a secret, C.J. Campaigns bring people together; they don't keep people together."
"Let me ask you something, pal." C.J. stood and walked towards the door. "When did sushi places start handing out fortune cookies?"
* * *
"The word 'compatriots' here is wrong. Very wrong. I'm replacing it with 'partners'."
"How can you be doing this?"
"But that throws off the rhythm, so I'm changing 'prospects' to 'hope'."
Sam glanced at Toby from the corner of his eye. "How can you be reading in a moving car like this?"
Toby ignored him. He scribbled down some notes and read aloud. "'Teachers, parents, and the government must be partners in the effort to ensure that all our children have hope for tomorrow.' See, it's better that way. And it makes more strategic sense."
"Yes," Sam admitted, as he pulled up outside the hotel. "I still don't understand why you don't get motion-sickness."
"I'm that damn good." Toby tossed the pages into Sam's lap and got out of the car.
Sam followed, and spotted the Press bus nearby. "They're here."
"Well, I'd hate to have them miss an opportunity to crush us," Toby commented.
"They haven't been so bad. The Dallas Morning News...."
"How much does the non-Texan world care about The Dallas Morning News?"
"Not much at all."
"Exactly." Toby strode through the door and into the lobby.
Sam scanned the speech as he went in. "You're right. It's better this way."
"It wasn't the worst draft I've ever seen," Toby allowed.
C.J. rushed across the lobby to intercept them. "Guys. John Hoynes is speaking to a tech crowd tonight in San Francisco."
"We know that."
"He opened the event up to the public half an hour ago."
Sam winced. "We're going to get hit. You know why?"
"Because that man is a fount of affliction?" Toby offered.
"No, because he's getting desperate. We have him in a corner, and the primary's in a fortnight."
C.J. looked askance at Sam. "Okay. Anyway, I'll be on the phone after the speech, see what I can find out."
The three of them stepped into the ballroom.
* * *
"I've been reading this fascinating book on horology," Jed informed Leo as they walked down the back hallway.
"Do I want to know what that is?"
"The science of measuring time, and the art of making instruments for indicating time."
"All right. You know what I'm wondering now?"
"What?"
"How long we're going to be able to keep the American people from finding out that you're insane."
"Hey." Josh waved them over. "Everyone's here. The speech is on the prompters; Sam gave me your copy."
Bartlet took it from him, reading quickly. "This isn't bad."
"They try to save the bad writing for the really important events," Josh explained to Mandy, who was looking on quietly. "Governor, I'd like you to meet Mandy Hampton."
"It's an honor," she said, coming forward to shake his hand.
"Mandy. Is that short for Amanda?"
"Madeleine."
"Madeleine. Did you know that a device which uses dripping water to measure the passage of time is called a clepsydra?"
She looked confused. "I can't say that I did."
"Horology," he said, in a conspiratorial tone. "How much time do we have?"
"Approximately none," Leo said. "We'll be out front."
"Break a leg," Josh said, as they parted ways.
Bartlet glanced at one of his Secret Service agents. "Can someone smack him around a little for saying that?"
Josh laughed and touched Mandy's arm lightly. "He's a great man."
"Is he always like that?" she wondered.
"Like what?"
"With the arcane trivia?"
"You have no idea," Leo assured her.
They joined the rest of the campaign staff, applauding as the candidate took the stage.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!"
And everyone was listening. Thirty minutes later, they still were.
"...hope for tomorrow. My name is Josiah Bartlet, and I would like to serve as your President!"
As they rose to applaud again, Mandy looked at Sam and Toby. "You wrote this?"
"We wrote this," Sam said proudly.
"I'm impressed."
Toby waved this off. "Are you on board?"
Mandy raised her eyebrows. "I don't--"
"Are you on board?" Josh repeated emphatically.
She looked around for a long moment. "...Yes. Yes, I am."
"Then it was a good speech," Toby said, as the clapping died out.
"You know something?" C.J. put in. "We're not in Kansas anymore."
Josh stared at her. "What?"
"This is real." C.J. beamed at him. "We're going to win this."
He considered this, and nodded very slowly. A smile gradually brightened his face. "Yeah," he said. "We had a good day."
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